General Secretary of the People’s Alliance (PA), Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne was sworn in as the Prime Minster before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees.  

Mr. Jayaratne entered parliament from Gampola electorate following the General Election in 1970 from the United Front led by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed all Sri Lanka Missions in Europe to take necessary action to render suitable consular assistance to those who have been affected by the cancellation of a large number of flights to and from many European capitals due to the volcanic eruptions in Iceland during the past few days.

Sri Lanka conveys heartfelt sorrow to the Government and People of Poland on the tragic demise of President Lech Kaczynski  

H.E the President Mahinda Rajapaksa sent a condolence message on the tragic demise of His Excellency Lech Kaczynski, President of the Republic of Poland, First Lady Maria Kaczynska and several others, including members of Parliament, members of the clergy and senior civilian and military officials in a plane crash.

The full text of the message

It is my belief that these New Year festivities should seek to further unite our people in heart and mind, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his message for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. 

The New Year celebrations by Sinhalese and Tamils alike are most appropriate in recognizing the kinship among us. This is the continuance of strong cultural traditions that strengthen the bonds among the people of our land, he said. 

I trust that this Sinhala and Tamil New Year which reflects the unity and pride of our nation will be celebrated by all in the spirit of joy, peace, sharing and contentment which will lead us to a future of prosperity, the President emphasized. 

Following is the full text of the message :

This is the triumph of Democracy. It is a clear restatement of the confidence the people placed in me, the Mahinda Chintana and the UPFA at the recent Presidential Election, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa commenting on the results of the General Election which gave a clear parliamentary majority to the UPFA.

‘We are humbled by the size of the repeated mandates given by the people and pledge to respond, in full measure, to the trust placed in us,’ the President added.

In response to well coordinated series of statements and web comments on alleged government plans to ‘arrest NGO activists and to suppress and intimidate its opponents and critics’, the Office of the President states that it has not found evidence of any ‘intelligence lists’ of NGO activists prepared by the State Intelligence Service as stated on Lanka News Web, or by any other law enforcement authority.

The Office of the President further states that any investigation by the authorities on alleged or suspected illegal or criminal activities are, and will be, conducted strictly in accordance with the law.

The Government of Sri Lanka has taken steps to resettle approximately 6,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) during the first two weeks of March 2010, in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, bringing down the total number of IDPs living in government-run welfare centres to 65,591. All IDPs have been given the option to return to their original villages or to relocate to areas of their choice. Those who wanted to remain in the welfare centres are permitted to stay at these centres. Almost 50% of the IDPs living in the Puttalam District for the last ten years have returned to their original places of habitat while the rest wished to remain. There are no restrictions on the movement of the IDPs and they are free to move out from the welfare centres or return. As at 8^th March 2010, number of IDPs who returned to the welfare centres is 24,292.

The Indian Foreign Secretary Shrimathi Nirupama Rao who met President Mahinda Rajapaksa today congratulated the President for his resounding victory in the recent Presidential Election, said she observed that so much had taken place for the better in Sri Lanka since she was last here as High Commissioner.

“Act in keeping with principles of UN Charter on non-interference” 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has pointed out that the intention of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a panel of experts to advice him (i.e. the SG) on Sri Lanka is totally uncalled for and unwarranted.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama summoned the British Acting High Commissioner in Colombo Mark Gooding to the Foreign Ministry today to express Sri Lanka’s strong protest with regard to the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband’s intent to address the London Conference of the pro-LTTE ‘Global Tamil Forum’ (GTF) today (24/2).  The Foreign Minister informed the Acting High Commissioner that the GTF brings together under one umbrella, several LTTE front organizations based mostly in the western countries, and that its objective is to create a separate state of Tamil Eelam.  The Foreign Minister in this context emphasized that Foreign Secretary Miliband, by participating at today’s GTF Meeting in London, would unfortunately lend credibility to an organization which is propagating the separatist agenda of the LTTE, and would be acting in a manner inimical to the national interest of Sri Lanka and its legitimate government.